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Kudos to Kara for being dedicated to helping dogs! Thanks for your efforts!

This is a nice story but there’s one big part left out that makes it not so happy. What about the people who adopted Kelsi to start with? Where are they? Did Kelsi get loose and they never found her? Or instead as I suspect, did they drive her hours away and drop her in a rural area so they wouldn’t feel guilty? This writer has somewhat glossed over this aspect of Kelsi’s story.

I wish for Kelsi a new home with people who will love her the rest of her life!

Shelter worker gives dog new life Rescue mission requires trip from Hilton Head Island to Kentucky By JIM FABER

Kelsi is one lucky dog.

Instead of facing certain death at a county shelter in Kentucky, the lovable mutt is back at Hilton Head Humane Association for the second time in about a year, looking healthy and trim.

And after a checkup with a veterinarian, she could be up for adoption soon.

But lets go back to the beginning.

Kelsi was found wandering around Bluffton on Nov. 29, 2005, and was taken to the Hilton Head Island shelter. Less than two weeks later, Kelsi was adopted by a family in Beaufort, seemingly headed for the good life as a pet, according to records at the humane association.

But a couple of weeks ago, she was found once again wandering this time in rural Kenton County, Ky., which borders Ohio near Cincinnati.

Things soon got dicey for Kelsi. She was taken to the Kenton County Animal Shelter in Fort Mitchell, Ky., on Dec. 14.

Because she is part pit bull, the Kentucky shelter couldnt adopt Kelsi out, said Sharon Williams, a shelter technician. A rule is in place regarding pit bulls because there are some areas in the county that have problems with dogfights, Williams said.

That left euthanasia as the only option, short of finding Kelsis owners.

Shelter staff couldnt track them down, but the microchip implanted in the dog led them to the Hilton Head Island shelter.

The contact information the island shelter had for Kelsis owners was out of date, and the family never registered the microchip in their names, said Clare Senior, shelter operations manager. So the humane association decided to send up a staff member to rescue Kelsi.

At 10 a.m. Christmas Day, staffer Kara Herald and friend Amanda Ping, a shelter volunteer, left on the 12-hour drive to northern Kentucky to pick up Kelsi.

Both women grew up in northern Kentucky and are recent transplants to the island, with Ping moving just three weeks ago.

Herald even made it to her mothers house in a town about 40 miles from the Kentucky shelter just before midnight on Christmas, meaning she was, at least officially, home for the holiday, something that wouldnt have happened without Kelsi.

I got to see all of my family, Herald said. I saw my 7-month-old niece for the first time.

On Wednesday, Herald and Ping went to get Kelsi.

The dog immediately melted their hearts and the hearts of their families and friends. The 50-pound Kelsi even finagled pancakes from Heralds dad, who is not usually fond of dogs.

Kelsi is that kind of dog, Herald said. Anyone can fall in love with her.

On Thursday, the rescuers made the trip back to Hilton Head with Kelsi in back of the Ford Explorer.

No one knows how the dog ended up wandering around Kenton County, but if it werent for the microchip and the Hilton Head shelters willingness to pick her up, Kelsi would be dead by now, said Williams, technician at the Kentucky shelter.

It appears the ordeal didnt alter Kelsis friendly disposition. Given her healthy look, ease of manner around people and desire to socialize with other dogs Thursday, Kelsi might well have had some good times before she was found wandering in rural Kentucky.

The dog will be checked by a vet today or Saturday and could be up for adoption within a week, said Senior, the island shelter operations manager.